by Prax Venter
“These tables won’t stop that from stepping all over us,” Jack said, waving his hand at what they all assumed to be the boss. He turned to check every direction anyway, just to be sure there wasn’t something else. For all they knew the final Boss could be all the tables carefully set for tea.
“We should spread out,” Lex said, nodding. “Jack opens with a beam, and I’ll pull it off.”
“I want to circle around it first,” Farah said. “I want to be in position when I see those handy damage numbers whittling it down.”
Jack watched the shorter defensive warrior give their new Shadow Blade a sharp nod and grin. They had been working up closer to the Boss fights together within melee range while Jack and Haylee typically blasted everything down from a distance. Jack turned to the wooden box with a single hourglass eye that hovered near by.
“If we’re fighting that big robot, he’ll probably hit hard. We’ll keep you ranged for now, but if Lex takes too much, I’ll flip you to the Ghost Armor so you can just hover over the tables.”
“Sounds good,” Alt’s voice came from the slowly spinning cube.
Everyone knew their part of the plan, so with a deep breath, Lex readied her equipment and stalked toward the plastic action-figure the size of an elm tree. Using the practice gained on the last 30 some-odd Boss fights, Farah moved with Lex, but this time the lithe woman covered more ground with her long legs as she swung outward through the infinite tables.
Jack, Alt, and Haylee stood idle for a few moments to give the two melee fighters a chance to get close. The Dark Prism waited until they were out of earshot and then turned her head to face Jack.
“Did Alt’s people build the Towers?”
His eyebrows shot up before he could stop his face from reacting. Alt was more or less responsible for building her whole universe- right? Was the answer truly yes? Between his stupid face and his slow response, she’d already seen enough.
Haylee turned her large gray eyes on Alt.
“Interesting. That’s all I need for now.”
She focused on the huge robot monster standing amongst the unending tea party again before she padded away from them into her ranged position.
Jack watched her go and wondered if everything was about to come to a head about the true reason for their existence… and of their suffering. Alt’s odd spinning cube hovered off in the other direction in order to keep their ranged fighters from clumping up and spoke directly in Jack’s mind.
“I told you she was observant.”
- 4 -
The party of five continued up the Tower faster than ever, and Haylee’s generally impassive disposition didn’t change, nor did she let on that she felt any different about her universe, or about Alt. Jack, however, grew increasingly more terrified that Lex would learn the truth before he himself could tell her.
The love of his life smiled brightly at him when another leather helm finally dropped from the Floor 39 Boss, a diamond-encrusted turtle with white-hot horns. She’d been close to the golden Boss Chest when the monster exploded and was the first to look inside. Lex walked through the swirling black ash that made up the ground and handed it to him personally.
“Ten more Hero Levels and we unlock our third-tier abilities, my love,” she said as she opened the trade interface.
‘Offered by Lex’
Padded Helm - [Head | Value: 190]
| Def: 30 |
| Max HP +30 |
| Dodge +15 |
Jack stuffed his anxiety down as he looked up from the new Head Slot item and into Lex’s golden eyes. He was horrible at hiding anything, especially from her, and sooner or later she was going to ask what was bothering him.
At that moment he decided to tell her everything tonight after the town hall meeting. Coming clean about the full truth as he understood it instantly dissipated the tension that had been twisting his stomach for the last few Floors. He let out a huge sigh as the knots in his mind and body relaxed. She would understand.
“I understand your reasons,” Alt said telepathically, “and, I can feel your stomach unclenching over the relief this decision brings you… I feel no small amount of anxiety about what’s going on in Haylee’s mind myself, but I think-”
“What’s wrong?” Lex asked, watching Jack just stare at the interface.
He blinked and gave her a smile.
“Nothing really,” he lied. “I was just thinking how Farah has been taking more hits as she’s been up there in the mix with you a lot more. Maybe she should have the first leather helm instead. We’ll see a bunch more anyway.”
Lex looked over at the taller, long-haired woman watching them and nodded.
“It’s a good point,” the Bastion said then turned to Farah. “At first, I thought you were reckless. After seeing you handle yourself on these tougher Floors, I have to admit that it was only well-placed confidence I was seeing.”
Farah winked at her. “You’re not so bad yourself, Bastion.”
Lex declined the trade with Jack and offered the new item to the party’s Shadow Blade instead. Then, after Farah accepted and equipped the brown skullcap, the shorter blonde woman healed the few hundred points of damage Farah had taken during the Boss fight.
Jack took the opportunity and responded to the spaceship linked to his mind. He turned his eyes toward the angular metal dog and conveyed the fact that he was absolutely done hiding anything from Lex. This was it. It felt right, and he was aware she might be angry, or upset at first, maybe been heartbroken… but Haylee had apparently figured it out, and she still understood that the only way forward was to become stronger. Jack clenched his teeth. His mind had been made up; for better or for worse, she deserved to know the truth.
He felt Alt’s reluctant agreement echo back to him and, through their emotional link, experienced continual anxiety about what was going through Haylee’s sharp mind.
She was right by his side, and her observant gray eyes met his. Jack reached out and patted the cloth hood she’d picked up a few Floors back.
“Right,” he said, turning from the quiet Dark Prism and stepping up to the freestanding wooden door with the number ‘40’ seared into its surface. “Let’s see if they have any hats up there.”
Once the white flash numbing his senses cleared, Jack found him and his party standing in a forest clearing. Drooping pine trees grew thick around them with a single dirt path out through the densely packed trunks. Ahead was what appeared to be an ornate wooden cabin covered with fluffy green moss, a rainbow of flowers spilling out of window planters, and woodsmoke piping out the tall brick chimney. A small blue bird flapped its tiny wings as it dropped down from above and landed on the softly pulsing Exit Orb poking out of a small shrub nearby.
The whole scene was cozy and looked like something out of a fairy tale, but Jack searched the dark forest again. They were here to murder and loot, after all.
“Should we see who’s home?” Farah said, crossing her thin arms.
“Let’s,” Jack said and moved toward the cottage tucked into this ancient-looking forest. Farah and sonic-dog Alt watched behind while Haylee and Lex stood close to his flank. His first instinct was to simply kick the door in, wait for his protector to lead the rush in and then face whatever madness was inside with his blade, but when he heard muffled humming coming from within, he paused and shot a glance to Lex.
Her darker eyebrows came down, and they both leaned in closer to try and pick up more information about what was inside.
“What is it?” Farah whispered.
He held up a gloved finger without looking back and strained his ears as he leaned against the old wooden door.
“Mmm hmm, salt and sugar… Mmm Mmm twice the spice.”
Jack pulled back and shook his head. Given the rest of the scene around them, there was no way that there wasn’t a grandmother-type person in there baking pies.
He motioned for Lex and Haylee to pull back and knocked on the door instead.
The singing
stopped immediately, and Jack gripped the hilt of his sword, stepping back to join the others. With a loud groaning creak, the door opened, and it was exactly what he pictured. Standing inside was a heavy set, gray-haired elderly woman with tiny glasses, a pink housecoat, and kind smile.
“Oh, you’ve come to visit your lonely old grandmother,” she said, clutching her hands between her bosom. “I’ve just run out of firewood. Be a dear and fetch me some logs from the Sundrop Forest and I’ll be able to bake you some warm, fresh cookies.”
It wasn’t pies, but he was close enough. The disarming woman didn’t seem hostile, but he had long learned never to turn his back on anything in this ever-changing Tower.
“Uh,” Jack stammered, his right hand still reaching across his gut and gripping tightly on his hilt. “You want us to go collect firewood?”
“What is the danger?” Haylee asked in her steady voice.
The woman blinked. “There may be a wolf or two, but that’s why you’re holding that bow, is it not? Won’t you do this small chore for me? It would mean ever so much to your defenseless old grandmother.”
Lex took a step forward.
“What’s your name?”
Jack looked over to the Bastion and was confused until he realized she was beginning to truly question the nature of her universe- and Jack’s heart soared. He was certain that she was ready to hear the truth.
“My name, child? I’d answer to Dearest Grandmother, or I suppose Old Gran would work in a pinch. Now, enough nonsense. I have some dough to knead, and I know how you love my sugar cookies. Remember, don’t step off the path, my dears!”
With that, she shut the door, and Jack heard her muffled humming start up once again.
“Should we just kill her?” the tall Shadow Blade said from behind him. “The smoke from the chimney suggests she is lying and has wood to burn.”
Jack spun around. “No, let’s play along for now. But I bet she ends up being the Boss.”
“I agree,” Haylee said then turned to Lex. “Have you ever heard of beings in the Tower giving out benign tasks like this?”
The blonde Bastion was still staring at the door where her fake Grandmother had been standing so Alt filled the silence with an answer.
“Remember that time the brawling sun and raincloud asked us to kill the other? It’s not the same, but it’s the closest thing I can think of that I’ve experienced.”
“I’ve never been to 40,” Farah said, glancing toward the shadowed path out of the clearing. “I’ve heard that the Floors become more… complicated when divisible by 10.”
Lex nodded, her golden eyes still on the door. “I’ve heard this as well. Also, at 24, 49, and 74- before a Path tier upgrades.”
“Information I wasn’t born knowing…” Haylee murmured to herself.
Jack let the beings of pure energy around him think for a moment and then moved toward the one path out of the clearing.
“Let’s go get this firewood and then see what the Tower does in response. I know I don’t have to say it, but keep your guard up and be ready for anything.”
Lex hastened her stride to walk by his side at the lead while robot-dog Alt took up position as rear guard behind Farah and Haylee. The path between the droopy pines was about six yards wide, and it was darker under the canopy, but the shining yellow sun above spilled beams of warm light over the knotted roots and dry needles that covered the forest floor.
The dirt trail twisted through the trees, their limp branches obscuring most of what lay ahead and as they walked, the old woman’s words about staying on the path came back to Jack. He wondered why she’d be that specific. Everything had always tried to kill him within the Tower, so was she trying to mislead them somehow? He figured it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if he only put one toe out to see what would happen. Jack gave the chain that restrained his impulsive spirit some slack to test his theory.
As they quietly walked through the serene woods, he angled closer to the edge and saw nothing dangerous. There were patches of blueish-gray mushrooms here and there, a slew of pinecones, but it was mostly just covered with pine needles.
He put his right foot down on the brown blanket of bristles just beyond the dirt path and movement over his head quickly drew his attention. Before he could even blink, the trees all bent impossibly away from him as if they were made of rubber and a torrent of horrible burning light from the blaring sun crashed down through his eyes directly into his brain.
Jack -319 | HP 170/489
“Gha-!” he tried to scream in pain, but the hard ground came up to meet the back of his head and slammed his jaw shut.
He heard Lex yell, “Jack!” and felt her hand on his chest but all he could see was stinging yellow brightness- and a new status icon.
Blindness - [Hit Chance reduced by 100% | 00:04:57]
~ Sundrop Forest dropped the sun on you
The Bastion began to sing, and the healing status alerts began to fill his empty vision.
Jack +24 | HP 194/489, HP 218/489, HP 242/489…
It took about 15 seconds for her to get him back to full, and Jack tried to let her soothing voice calm his thoughts but fixated on the approximately 50 mana she had to waste. When he was restored, Jack sat up and took a deep breath.
“I’ve been blinded for five minutes. Also, by the way, Old Gran was telling the truth about stepping off the damn path.”
“Wolves,” Alt called out a warning, and Jack heard his party draw their weapons.
“Don’t move,” Lex said by his ear, and tight helplessness sprouted in his mind. He swiveled his head to pick up what was happening, his imagination coloring in the scene in the worst possible light.
The twang of a bow-sting came from his left, and the yip of a distant canine echoed through the trees.
Dire Pinewolf -250 | HP 580/830
Haylee had struck the first blow, and Jack tried to remain absolutely still as the people he had come to love and care for fought what had to be a whole pack of enemies coming from every direction. He saw damage notifications from Lex, Alt, and Farah, but there was nothing he could do to help. He didn’t dare move, or he could easily cross the boundary of the path and lose another massive chunk of life. With clenched fists and stinging eyes, Jack burned this lesson into his mind- yet again.
When it was over, he heaved out a lungful of relief. They all survived without his help, but Robo-Alt was down to 23 Hit Points. Losing someone would be a nightmare, but even losing Alt for the rest of Floor 40 could force them to leave with nothing… And given the new threat the Town faced…
“I’m so sorry,” Jack said after Lex had spent more of her precious mana to heal the team back to full. “I’m still figuring out what risks are worth taking, and that was really stupid.”
Farah let out a short laugh. “Good for you. At least you can admit it.”
“I disagree,” Haylee said as Jack’s stinging yellow blindness faded, and the world came back to him. He pushed off the dirt path and stood to face the grey-eyed girl. She gestured to the dropping pines surrounding them and continued. “There is a high chance that I would have dashed into the trees to get a better angle on these monsters. If I had been the one to step off the path, I would have died instantly.”
Jack’s eyes shot to her HPs in his HUD.
HAYLEE HP 314/314
She was right.
Lex put her hand on his shoulder, and he turned to face her. “Just… warn me next time?”
“I will.”
They locked eyes for a few heartbeats before Alt broke the silence.
“You’ll want to check the drops, Jack.”
He pulled his eyes away from her and accessed his inventory interface with a thought. At the top were a pair of steel pants worth 214 value that seemed to be a rare drop, but no one in the party could wear them, next was an okay spear, and then he saw what his friend was talking about.
Mote of Sunlight - [Off-Hand | Value: 220]
| +20 Fire Damage to all at
tacks |
| Max MP +48 |
| Coins found in the Tower increased by 22% |
“Is it leather Head Slot gear?” Lex asked, a small smile on her face from seeing his reaction.
He answered by removing the Gem of Static he’d had equipped for far too long and held up his left fist for everyone to Inspect. Instead of a blue gemstone embedded in his glove, there was a tiny golden pearl that sparkled in the sunlight.
“Not sure what we’ll do with the extra coin,” Jack said, “but it’s double the damage boost.”
“I’ll help carry your burden of coins,” the Shadow Blade responded dryly from behind him, but he saw Lex’s darker eyebrows come down. She looked deep in thought.
“What?” he asked.
She focused her golden eyes back on his as a sideways grin grew on her face.
“I’ve come to a decision on my vote for Blackmoor’s new building.” The elfish Bastion turned toward the angular metal dog near their feet. “Alt, may I talk to you for a moment?”
The AI looked from Jack then back to Lex.
“Of course you may.”
She motioned with her head for Jack to take the lead. With a grin, he ushered Haylee and Farah along the twisting path while Alt and Lex fell back to speak in private.
The lithe Shadow Blade shook her head. “I can’t wait to see you actually choose the destiny of your Town’s growth. After we retake Emberstone, you think you can teach me that particularly valuable trick?”
Jack kept his eyes wandering between the trees for more enemies as he answered.
“Alt is the one making it happen. We only get to influence what happens.”
They walked in silence for a few steps before Farah spoke up again.
“I don’t even know how to ask this the right way, but where did he come from? How does he do all the unbelievable feats he does? What… even is he?”
Jack sighed, he knew Haylee was listening to this conversation intently and tried to set things straight for her too.
“I don’t have all the answers, Farah. I’m not from your world and neither is Alt. Imagine that System Sana is only one of many layers of reality. Like this Tower, this forest around us. When we leave, we go home to Blackmoor, but what if it was possible to find an Exit Orb outside the Tower?”